Sorry, this is only 3 months late :). Here is our birth story (some parts might be TMI):
Throughout my entire pregnancy I said I would work up until the baby came, I wanted to go completely natural and I didn't want to be induced unless there was something wrong with me or the baby.
I went to work on May 10th (the day I blogged the below entry) thinking it was just another day. Before I left for a my weekly doctor's appointment, my manager requested that I go ahead and tie up all loose ends of my business. With hesitation, I did as she requested. The reason I was hesitant is because at my previous doctor's appointments I hadn't dilated at all, so I thought I would be back on Monday with nothing to do. My due date was on Tuesday, but I truly believed I would go a while after my due date.
I had a scheduled ultrasound before my doctor's appointment, because at the appointment the week before they said I was measuring large and wanted to see how big the baby was. First thing I always told the ultrasound techs was that we didn't want to find out the sex. This girl was so fun and played around with it and told me now that she knew that even if I begged her she wouldn't tell me what it was. I closed my eyes when she told me to so I wouldn't sneak a peek. The conversation was very normal, but I do remember her asking me, "So, they said you're measuring larger than you should be?" I replied, "Yes." Then she said, "Hmmm. That's weird."
As I sat in the waiting room, I thought to myself that this potentially could be my last appointment before we had the baby, but I don't think I really believed it. I was at ease. I didn't have a worry in the world. When the nurse took me to back to the room, once again I was calm and collected. I changed into the sheet and sat and waited on the doctor.
Dr. Moss walked through the door and I smiled as big as I could and said, "Hey Dr. Moss! How are you?" I will NEVER forget the look on her face as she replied, "Well, to be honest your ultrasound kind of concerns me." I'm not sure exactly how long it took me to break down, but I know that I did. Dr. Moss brought me some tissue and continued, "Seeing as how you're belly is measuring large, we assumed that your baby would be measuring large as well, but that's not the case. The baby is measuring very small and I'm not sure why. We need to get this baby out as soon as possible." There I am sitting in this room without Gary scared to death!! I don't really remember exactly how the next few minutes went, but I do know that she checked to see if I was dilated. I wasn't. And we also listened to the heartbeat, which was normal, thank goodness!! She said we could go ahead and come in that night to get the labor going or, at the latest, wait until my due date, but we need to get the baby out. I called Gary and talked to him about it and he said there would be no point in waiting if they really think something is wrong. So, we were told to be at the hospital that night at 9 pm.
I can't fully describe to you how I felt as I drove away from the doctor's office. I felt bombarded, unprepared and EXTREMELY SCARED!! I called family members and texted friends to let them know what was going on. I came home and thankfully Gary was already here. We hugged and cried and prayed! Throughout the rest of the evening we packed our bags and prepared to go to the hospital. Family started making their way into town that night. My parent's met us at the hospital when we checked in, got in our room and settled. Around 9:30 pm they inserted some sort of inducing medicine, which I had no idea would start contractions. I was able to get some rest, but would wake up when a contraction would start. Their were nurses in and out the whole night having to adjust monitors and such. Don't worry, Gary was over on his cot snoozing away :). I'm actually glad he was able to get some good sleep though. At around 6 am they were supposed to insert the same medicine, but the baby wasn't reacting well to that medcine so they decided not to do another round. Her heartbeat would slow down during contractions. They were supposed to start me on pitocin at about 8 am, but the doctor on call decided that I was progressing well enough on my own at that point so they decided not to. I believe I was dilated to 1 cm. My doctor arrived to check me around 11:30 and I think I was at a 2. She then stated talking to the nurse about what time they started the pitocin and the nurse informed her that they didn't. She was not a happy camper and sternly requested that she start it immediately. At this point, I could feel the contractions, but they were bearable.
They ended up having to remove the outer fetal monitor for the baby's heartbeat and insert an internal monitor, which meant that I couldn't go to the restroom. They brought me a portable potty and I had to use it right there in the room. I had to pee a lot during labor, I do remember that, so Gary had to move that potty back and forth a lot :). As the contractions became worse I tried to find many different ways to get comfortable. I tried laying on my back, the nurse would make me lay on my side, I bounced on my birthing ball (a.k.a. exercise ball), I got on all fours, but nothing was helping!! The doctor and nurses kept an eye on the baby's heartbeat the entire time because it was still dropping during contractions and they said if it continued we would have to do a c-section. Oh and I had to keep an oxygen mask on as much as possible to be sure me and the baby were getting enough oxygen. After about 20 hours of labor I was only dilated to a 7. I had some great coaches through my contractions when Gary couldn't be there. I needed them to tell me that I could do it, but I was exhausted and not enjoying the experience at all! I asked the nurse if I kept going how long did she think it would be. She said at least 2 more hours. With the pain I was in and having contractions as close together as they were, 2 hours seemed like a lifetime away, so I knew it was time to throw in the towel and get the epidural. Let me just say that having to sit completely still while a big needle goes in your back and your having contractions is not the easiest thing in the world. My nurse was AWESOME!! I leaned on her like none other!
Within a few minutes the epidural started working. The contractions were still close together and I could still feel them, but the pain was lessening and lessening. I could sit up. I could smile. I could hold a conversation. It was GREAT!! Once I got the epidural, my body was able to relax and I progressed rather quickly. I'm not exactly sure how much time lapsed, but it felt very fast. I had already asked my mom, my sister and Gary's mom to stay in the room. During birthing classes they told us that only 3 people, including the husband, were allowed to be in the room. Shelley was supposed to be my videographer and I really wanted her in there. Our good friend Rachael really wanted to stay as well, so she and Shelley hid in the corner. The nurse came in and just started laughing. She said as long as they stayed out of the way she didn't have a problem with them being in there. YAY!! So, the final count was, Gary, my mom, Gary's mom, my sister, and Rachael. It was a party!!
Back in November I was blessed enough to watch my friend Rachel (yes I have several friends named Rachel) deliver her precious baby boy. I remember when she was practice pushing that there were several nurses and the doctor all in the room. When I was practice pushing...there was 1 nurse. That was it. There was another nurse that kept coming in and out, but other than that it was a ghost town. I honestly thought that nurse was going to deliver my baby! I pushed for 45 minutes. I remember being terrified that I was going to poop all over the nurse and I kept asking Gary if I had. He said no every single time, but I just kept smelling something awful. I remembered later that I had my oxygen mask on the entire time and didn't brush my teeth that day...GROSS!!!! It was my own breath I was smelling!!
Once the doctor arrived, she gave my "party members" instructions, such as, there could be no video taping during the delivery. So, I too decided I needed to give instructions. I wanted Gary to announce what the baby was. I requested that everyone please be quiet until he said the sex. So, the doctor slaps on her gloves, spins around in her chair and says PPPPPUUUUUSSSSHHHH!!! And what do you know, one push with the doctor and I could feel that baby plop right out!! I could hear them working down there and so I knew the baby was out, but all of my people were just staring. I yelled, "IS IT OUT??!" Gary replies softly, "Yes." I said, "WHAT IS IT??!" He said, "Oh yeah, It's a girl!" The doctor then said, "And a little one, just like we thought."
Gwyneth Wren Washer was born on May 11, 2013 at 6:28 pm. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.
After that everything is kind of a blur. I loved that sweet face and those big eyes. Oh my goodness she was perfect!! While I'm enjoying the baby and the excitement, my doctor is trying to finish up. She pulls the umbilical cord (oh yeah Gary did cut that) and it breaks off, leaving my afterbirth inside. The next thing I know, my doctor is elbow deep trying to find it to pull it out. It was SOOOO uncomfortable!! I remember saying. "Get it out. Get it out. Get it out!" Once she finally did, it was like a sigh of relief! The doctor said my umbilical cord was severed (which is why it broke) and that's probably why she was so tiny. However, she had gotten what she needed from it.
After the baby was born and taken to the nursery, I had to continue to stay on oxygen for a while because my blood pressure wasn't what it should be.
Finally, everything was clear and I was able to move to a normal room. Most of the crowd had left, but the few that stayed were able to hold the baby one more time. Once everyone left, I got some AWESOME sleep because I sent Wren to the nursery (best decision I ever made).
It was definitely a roller coaster ride, but what we ended up with was something amazing and I can't imagine life without her now! She's pretty awesome!!
Throughout my entire pregnancy I said I would work up until the baby came, I wanted to go completely natural and I didn't want to be induced unless there was something wrong with me or the baby.
I went to work on May 10th (the day I blogged the below entry) thinking it was just another day. Before I left for a my weekly doctor's appointment, my manager requested that I go ahead and tie up all loose ends of my business. With hesitation, I did as she requested. The reason I was hesitant is because at my previous doctor's appointments I hadn't dilated at all, so I thought I would be back on Monday with nothing to do. My due date was on Tuesday, but I truly believed I would go a while after my due date.
I had a scheduled ultrasound before my doctor's appointment, because at the appointment the week before they said I was measuring large and wanted to see how big the baby was. First thing I always told the ultrasound techs was that we didn't want to find out the sex. This girl was so fun and played around with it and told me now that she knew that even if I begged her she wouldn't tell me what it was. I closed my eyes when she told me to so I wouldn't sneak a peek. The conversation was very normal, but I do remember her asking me, "So, they said you're measuring larger than you should be?" I replied, "Yes." Then she said, "Hmmm. That's weird."
As I sat in the waiting room, I thought to myself that this potentially could be my last appointment before we had the baby, but I don't think I really believed it. I was at ease. I didn't have a worry in the world. When the nurse took me to back to the room, once again I was calm and collected. I changed into the sheet and sat and waited on the doctor.
Dr. Moss walked through the door and I smiled as big as I could and said, "Hey Dr. Moss! How are you?" I will NEVER forget the look on her face as she replied, "Well, to be honest your ultrasound kind of concerns me." I'm not sure exactly how long it took me to break down, but I know that I did. Dr. Moss brought me some tissue and continued, "Seeing as how you're belly is measuring large, we assumed that your baby would be measuring large as well, but that's not the case. The baby is measuring very small and I'm not sure why. We need to get this baby out as soon as possible." There I am sitting in this room without Gary scared to death!! I don't really remember exactly how the next few minutes went, but I do know that she checked to see if I was dilated. I wasn't. And we also listened to the heartbeat, which was normal, thank goodness!! She said we could go ahead and come in that night to get the labor going or, at the latest, wait until my due date, but we need to get the baby out. I called Gary and talked to him about it and he said there would be no point in waiting if they really think something is wrong. So, we were told to be at the hospital that night at 9 pm.
I can't fully describe to you how I felt as I drove away from the doctor's office. I felt bombarded, unprepared and EXTREMELY SCARED!! I called family members and texted friends to let them know what was going on. I came home and thankfully Gary was already here. We hugged and cried and prayed! Throughout the rest of the evening we packed our bags and prepared to go to the hospital. Family started making their way into town that night. My parent's met us at the hospital when we checked in, got in our room and settled. Around 9:30 pm they inserted some sort of inducing medicine, which I had no idea would start contractions. I was able to get some rest, but would wake up when a contraction would start. Their were nurses in and out the whole night having to adjust monitors and such. Don't worry, Gary was over on his cot snoozing away :). I'm actually glad he was able to get some good sleep though. At around 6 am they were supposed to insert the same medicine, but the baby wasn't reacting well to that medcine so they decided not to do another round. Her heartbeat would slow down during contractions. They were supposed to start me on pitocin at about 8 am, but the doctor on call decided that I was progressing well enough on my own at that point so they decided not to. I believe I was dilated to 1 cm. My doctor arrived to check me around 11:30 and I think I was at a 2. She then stated talking to the nurse about what time they started the pitocin and the nurse informed her that they didn't. She was not a happy camper and sternly requested that she start it immediately. At this point, I could feel the contractions, but they were bearable.
They ended up having to remove the outer fetal monitor for the baby's heartbeat and insert an internal monitor, which meant that I couldn't go to the restroom. They brought me a portable potty and I had to use it right there in the room. I had to pee a lot during labor, I do remember that, so Gary had to move that potty back and forth a lot :). As the contractions became worse I tried to find many different ways to get comfortable. I tried laying on my back, the nurse would make me lay on my side, I bounced on my birthing ball (a.k.a. exercise ball), I got on all fours, but nothing was helping!! The doctor and nurses kept an eye on the baby's heartbeat the entire time because it was still dropping during contractions and they said if it continued we would have to do a c-section. Oh and I had to keep an oxygen mask on as much as possible to be sure me and the baby were getting enough oxygen. After about 20 hours of labor I was only dilated to a 7. I had some great coaches through my contractions when Gary couldn't be there. I needed them to tell me that I could do it, but I was exhausted and not enjoying the experience at all! I asked the nurse if I kept going how long did she think it would be. She said at least 2 more hours. With the pain I was in and having contractions as close together as they were, 2 hours seemed like a lifetime away, so I knew it was time to throw in the towel and get the epidural. Let me just say that having to sit completely still while a big needle goes in your back and your having contractions is not the easiest thing in the world. My nurse was AWESOME!! I leaned on her like none other!
Within a few minutes the epidural started working. The contractions were still close together and I could still feel them, but the pain was lessening and lessening. I could sit up. I could smile. I could hold a conversation. It was GREAT!! Once I got the epidural, my body was able to relax and I progressed rather quickly. I'm not exactly sure how much time lapsed, but it felt very fast. I had already asked my mom, my sister and Gary's mom to stay in the room. During birthing classes they told us that only 3 people, including the husband, were allowed to be in the room. Shelley was supposed to be my videographer and I really wanted her in there. Our good friend Rachael really wanted to stay as well, so she and Shelley hid in the corner. The nurse came in and just started laughing. She said as long as they stayed out of the way she didn't have a problem with them being in there. YAY!! So, the final count was, Gary, my mom, Gary's mom, my sister, and Rachael. It was a party!!
Back in November I was blessed enough to watch my friend Rachel (yes I have several friends named Rachel) deliver her precious baby boy. I remember when she was practice pushing that there were several nurses and the doctor all in the room. When I was practice pushing...there was 1 nurse. That was it. There was another nurse that kept coming in and out, but other than that it was a ghost town. I honestly thought that nurse was going to deliver my baby! I pushed for 45 minutes. I remember being terrified that I was going to poop all over the nurse and I kept asking Gary if I had. He said no every single time, but I just kept smelling something awful. I remembered later that I had my oxygen mask on the entire time and didn't brush my teeth that day...GROSS!!!! It was my own breath I was smelling!!
Once the doctor arrived, she gave my "party members" instructions, such as, there could be no video taping during the delivery. So, I too decided I needed to give instructions. I wanted Gary to announce what the baby was. I requested that everyone please be quiet until he said the sex. So, the doctor slaps on her gloves, spins around in her chair and says PPPPPUUUUUSSSSHHHH!!! And what do you know, one push with the doctor and I could feel that baby plop right out!! I could hear them working down there and so I knew the baby was out, but all of my people were just staring. I yelled, "IS IT OUT??!" Gary replies softly, "Yes." I said, "WHAT IS IT??!" He said, "Oh yeah, It's a girl!" The doctor then said, "And a little one, just like we thought."
Gwyneth Wren Washer was born on May 11, 2013 at 6:28 pm. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.
After that everything is kind of a blur. I loved that sweet face and those big eyes. Oh my goodness she was perfect!! While I'm enjoying the baby and the excitement, my doctor is trying to finish up. She pulls the umbilical cord (oh yeah Gary did cut that) and it breaks off, leaving my afterbirth inside. The next thing I know, my doctor is elbow deep trying to find it to pull it out. It was SOOOO uncomfortable!! I remember saying. "Get it out. Get it out. Get it out!" Once she finally did, it was like a sigh of relief! The doctor said my umbilical cord was severed (which is why it broke) and that's probably why she was so tiny. However, she had gotten what she needed from it.
After the baby was born and taken to the nursery, I had to continue to stay on oxygen for a while because my blood pressure wasn't what it should be.
Finally, everything was clear and I was able to move to a normal room. Most of the crowd had left, but the few that stayed were able to hold the baby one more time. Once everyone left, I got some AWESOME sleep because I sent Wren to the nursery (best decision I ever made).
It was definitely a roller coaster ride, but what we ended up with was something amazing and I can't imagine life without her now! She's pretty awesome!!
The night she was born
Our first family photo
Her professional newborn pictures
Wren ~ 1 month
Our Huntsville shower
Our family Shower
Wren ~ 2 months
Wren ~ 3 months
Her professional 3 month pictures
Beach family photo!!
We are so blessed to have such a great baby in our lives and thank God for her everyday. We can't wait to see her grow up and experience all the different stages that each age brings. She changes so much everyday and it's such a joy to watch her grow and learn.
Feeling blessed,
1 comment:
So glad you're blogging again! I had no idea all of this had happened. Thanks for sharing. Wren is a cutie!
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